UNMIK Headlines 31 May
Veliu: We have enough votes to ratify border demarcation deal (Epoka e Re)
The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) deputy leader, Agim Veliu, said in an interview for the paper that the ruling coalition has enough votes to pass the agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro. He said he has faith that the LDK MPs would respect the party’s position and vote in favour of the agreement’s ratification which, he stressed, is a precondition for Kosovo’s European integration.
Opposition will not protest demarcation until ratification day (Zeri)
The paper reports in a front-page story that the opposition parties will not hold street protests against two recent agreements with Serbia and Montenegro, until the day when the government sends the border-demarcation agreement to be ratified in the Assembly. Opposition parties warn they will organise mass street protests on ratification day. On the other hand, Kosovo government has not clarified when they will send this agreement for ratification but did say that the agreement will be ratified during June.
EU appoints new head of office in Kosovo (Koha)
Citing unnamed diplomatic sources in Brussels, the paper reports on its front page that the European Union has decided to appoint Natalia Apostolova, from Bulgaria, as the new head of the EU Office in Kosovo. Apostolova, who is currently head of the EU delegation to Libya, will replace Samuel Zbogar who will assume leadership of the EU delegation in Skopje, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The same sources told the paper that the new appointments will be announced soon.
Rama calls for institutional relations between Kosovo and NATO (Koha)
In one of its front-page stories, the paper reports that Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, said yesterday at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly session in Tirana, that relations between Kosovo and NATO must become institutional. Rama said that Kosovo’s European integration is a necessity not only for Kosovo and the Balkans but also for the entire Euro-Atlantic family. “Kosovo’s political leadership, institutions and society shoulder the main burden in this crucial process for the youngest country in Europe. The full integration of the Balkans in NATO will be a strategic and capital investment,” Rama added.
Serbia could unilaterally establish Association/Community (Kosova Sot)
The director of the Belgrade-based Forum for Ethnic Relations, Dušan Janjić, told Radio Free Europe that there are fears amongst the international community that if by July the statute of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is not completed, Belgrade authorities could move a step forward by unilaterally establishing the Association/Community. Janjić added that as soon as the new government in Serbia is formed, there should be a meeting of prime ministers Aleksandar Vučić and Isa Mustafa to unblock the issue of the Association/Community. Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, warned that a unilateral establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities could lead to Serbia’s European integration being blocked as it goes against the principles of the Brussels Agreement.